


eyes that show kaleidoscopes

by orcamermaid



Category: The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: Awkwardness, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mildly Eldritch Lyfrassir, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:07:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22894603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orcamermaid/pseuds/orcamermaid
Summary: Lyfrassir Edda had been human, at one point. And now they weren't.
Relationships: Lyfrassir Edda/Marius von Raum
Comments: 10
Kudos: 177
Collections: Stowaways' Shenanigans





	eyes that show kaleidoscopes

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Across the Vast Wastes of Space](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22810984) by [octovoid128](https://archiveofourown.org/users/octovoid128/pseuds/octovoid128). 



> this is set vaguely in the world of octovoid128's Across the Vast Wastes of Space (with permission), which is an absolutely delightful fic.  
> once again inspired by discussion in the stowaway server—you guys are all great and have such cool ideas.  
> title from favourite colour by carly rae jepsen!

Lyfrassir Edda had been human, at one point. And now they weren't. They weren't quite _not_ human, either, but they were undoubtedly something different from what they used to be. The dizzying colours of the Bifrost clung stubbornly to them. Catching a glimpse of them out of the corner of your eye, you might for a second have seen a paint-splash of rainbow light instead of a person. Speaking to them, you might have heard a strange echo in their voice. Seeing them blink, you might, just for a moment, have seen them blink with more than one set of eyes. They seemed to know things, sometimes, that they shouldn't have known. Little details here and there. It was negligible, really, in the grand scheme of things. But it wasn't normal.

Lyfrassir sighed wearily and ran a hand through their already messy hair. It hung loose around their face, mussed from their anxious fidgeting. The med bay was quiet and dark around them. Just as well, really. They weren't sure they should be around people. Even if those people were immortal.

They vividly remembered the face of the woman at the last place they'd stopped for supplies before being picked up by the Aurora; how she'd seen something in their face and recoiled, terrified. The rest of the transaction had been rushed and quiet, and she'd refused to look them in the eyes. A lifetime of service to the people of New Midgard, always trying their best to be of use to society, and now here they were, a monster too horrifying to even look at. They huffed out a humourless laugh.

Lyfrassir picked their head up at the sound of footsteps in the corridor outside. They scrubbed at their face; they hadn't been crying, but they felt raw and hollowed out. They weren't particularly in the mood for a conversation with any of the Mechanisms, but somehow they suspected they wouldn't be given a choice.

They almost laughed when von Raum appeared in the doorway. Of course. Of course it was him.

"What do you want, von Raum?" they said. They couldn't quite keep the weariness from their voice, and they saw von Raum pause and take in their disheveled state.

"I… was just gonna come get you for dinner," he said, haltingly. "Are you…" He paused. "Are you okay?"

Lyfrassir waved him off.

"I'm fine," they said. "It doesn't matter. Go have dinner, I'm not hungry."

Von Raum hesitated in the doorway for a moment before stepping inside. He slowly walked over to sit on the cot next to Lyfrassir.

"What doesn't matter?" he said. Lyfrassir scoffed.

"Oh, you want to talk about my feelings?" they drawled. "I'm not in the mood for mockery."

Von Raum looked genuinely offended.

"You think I'm gonna come in here and _mock_ you for feeling bad? I'm not _Jonny_."

Lyfrassir laughed despite themself, a dry chuckle.

"No, you _are_ slightly more tolerable than Jonny, I'll give you that."

Von Raum grinned.

"High praise!" he said. "I've broken through the Inspector's icy exterior at last!"

Lyfrassir rolled their eyes and gave von Raum a light shove with one shoulder.

"Don't get any ideas," they muttered. They couldn't quite keep the smile off their face.

Von Raum looked at them searchingly for a moment.

"Seriously," he said. "What's wrong, Lyf?"

The use of their name without the title in front caught them off-guard. It was just a name. There was no reason for it to feel as intimate as it did. Lyfrassir looked away, wringing their hands.

"You must have noticed, right?" they said quietly. "I'm not… I'm not _right._ Yog-Sothoth, the Bifrost—it did something to me."

"Oh, you mean that glowy thing you do sometimes?"

Lyfrassir blinked. "I… suppose you could call it that."

"What about it?"

Lyfrassir looked up, staring at von Raum, at the perfectly casual expression on his face.

"Doesn't— Doesn't it scare you?" they whispered. "I'm not _human_."

Von Raum scoffed.

"First of all, you could make a pretty solid argument that no one on this ship is human," he said. "The Toy Soldier _definitely_ isn't, and it still gets to stick around. And besides that… why would I be _scared_ of you? You're not _dangerous_ , and even if you were, so am I. So is everyone here. Every member of this crew has killed me at least once, and you think I should be scared of you because you get extra colourful sometimes?"

Lyfrassir took a moment to process this.

"Well… I suppose not," they conceded reluctantly. The Mechanisms _were_ immortal. "But it's unsettling, isn't it? A normal human would be scared of me." They looked away again. "They _are_ scared of me. I've seen it."

Von Raum's hand on their shoulder startled them. Their eyes snapped back to him.

"Who cares?" he said. "People are scared of anything they don't understand. That just means you've gotten too interesting for them. You don't need people who'd be scared of you just because you're a tiny bit eldritch now."

Lyfrassir tried and failed to keep from smiling.

"I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me," they said. "I didn't know you had it in you."

Von Raum made a noise of protest. "I'm _so_ nice to you! Nicest guy on the ship, that's me! Ask Brian!"

"Brian will agree because he's nicer than you," Lyfrassir said, grinning.

"Unbelievable," von Raum said. "I try to cheer you up and this is what I get. Betrayal!"

He made to stand up, but Lyfrassir put a hand on his arm to stop him.

"Thank you, Marius," they said quietly. "Really. It… means a lot."

It was probably just a trick of the light that his face seemed redder than usual. Von Raum cleared his throat, eyes lingering on Lyfrassir's hand where it rested on his arm.

"Yeah, no problem!" he said, a bit too loudly. "Any time. I'm, uh, I'm going to go have dinner. You can come if you want. Or don't. I don't care."

He clapped Lyfrassir on the shoulder and hurried out of the room. They stared after him, bemused, and then shook their head. Trying to understand Marius von Raum was a battle for another day. They tied their hair into a rough bun and hopped off the cot to follow von Raum.


End file.
